Silly Rabbit, you’re fired!
General Mills, at the risk of an age-discrimination claim, is putting on leave the iconic cartoon rabbit mascot that has adorned Trix boxes for 56 years.
As part of its initiative to stop using artificial flavors and colors by 2017, the cereal brand is looking for a real rabbit since the cereal is becoming more real and a having a fake rabbit probably doesn’t represent it’s new brand ethos. It’s likely the biggest revamp the breakfast aisle has seen since 2012 when Quaker Oats debuted a slimmed-down version of its iconic Quaker, named Larry.
From now until Nov. 8, rabbit owners who want to turn their pets into cereal celebrities submit their entry on social media with the hashtag #RealTrixRabbit.
The sweepstakes similar to last week’s Lucky Charms Marshmallow contest that used a hashtag on social media to get people competing for a marshmallow-only version of the cereal.
So far, the rabbits don’t look enthralled:
I think Dougal has a shot at being the #RealTrixRabbit #HelicopterEars pic.twitter.com/oNo5PssUDh
— Sharon Stiteler (@birdchick) October 21, 2015
Bonana Queen deserves to be on the box for sure! ^_^ #realtrixrabbit pic.twitter.com/VzoHCSgrP4 — Ashley Figueroa Till (@countryfig) October 21, 2015
@ShyBun @GeneralMills we entered #RealTrixRabbit pic.twitter.com/0YIUQiG83C
— Whispy (@whispybunny) October 21, 2015
Alo, the #RealTrixRabbit pic.twitter.com/It7QjbxgdI
— aventurine (@sailorcorgi) October 21, 2015
The contest is off to meager star, with Topsy measuring just 62 times the hashtag has been used. General Mills says the winning rabbit’s face will be placed on a “limited run boxes in the winner’s hometown.”
Photos via General Mills.
More in Marketing
Hyve Group buys the Possible conference, and will add a meeting element to it in the future
Hyve Group, which owns such events as ShopTalk and FinTech Meetup, has agreed to purchase Beyond Ordinary Events, the organizing body behind Possible.
Agencies and marketers point to TikTok in the running to win ‘first real social Olympics’
The video platform is a crucial part of paid social plans this summer, say advertisers and agency execs.
Where Kamala Harris and Donald Trump stand on big tech issues
The next U.S. president is going to have a tough job of reining in social media companies’ dominance and power enough to satisfy lawmakers and users, while still encouraging free speech, privacy and innovation.